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Semantic Memory Structure and Self-Evaluation of Creativity: Evidence Across Tasks and Dimensions
1Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
Journal of Intelligence
|March 27, 2026
Summary
Creative idea generation relies on semantic memory and fluency. While fluency predicts originality, usefulness is task-dependent, and self-evaluations show metacognitive biases.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience of Creativity
Background:
- Creativity hinges on generating original and useful ideas.
- Cognitive and metacognitive processes are integral to creativity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how semantic memory structure and ideation fluency influence creative performance.
- To examine the relationship between creative output and self-evaluations.
- To explore task-specific predictors of originality and usefulness.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted, involving creative problem-solving (CPS) and divergent thinking tasks.
- Semantic memory networks were estimated using a relatedness judgment task.
- Creative output (originality, usefulness) and self-evaluations were assessed.
Main Results:
- Ideation fluency and semantic memory integration consistently predicted idea originality across tasks.
- Idea usefulness prediction was less consistent, showing task-specific links to semantic memory, particularly in CPS.
- Self-evaluations frequently differed from objective results due to metacognitive biases.
Conclusions:
- Semantic memory structure and ideation fluency are key predictors of creative originality.
- The prediction of creative usefulness is context-dependent.
- Metacognitive biases significantly influence self-perceptions of creativity.
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